Child abuse is one of the growing challenges facing modern society today. It ranges from emotional to psychological to physical forms of abuse. It is defined as;
“Child abuse is any activity in which a child is psychologically manipulated for an evil purpose or physically injured. Or an activity in which a child is raised molested or raped.”
World Health Organization (WHO) reports, more than 1 billion children had been abused globally in 2018.
According to Tribune, about 8 children are abused on average every day in Pakistan. This ratio is growing & is parallel to emotional and psychological abuse happening.
Cause of child abuse
It is seen that
- In most cases, abusers are themselves real victims of this act. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychological illness that causes emotions of aggression and rage. This illness might only be the force to move an abuser.
- Abusers have bad marital and domestic relationships.
Hence, it cause a shadow for the length of a lifetime.
Counter actions
Parents should develop an interactive relationship with the child. So that, nothing about the child remains hidden.
The child should be taught self-defense in courses to survive abuse attempts. Law should ensure the criminalization of such abuse of all forms. Government should increase the certainty of punishment. In this way, we can counter the it.
Role of society
Society lacks understanding about surrounding the trauma and harm. It happens after initially experiencing sexual violence. Despite a large amount of literature and political discourse is enclosing the subject.
Conclusion of Child abuse and its impacts
Child abuse highlights the high prevalence rate of sexual violence within Pakistan. There is an urgent need to prioritize sexual violence education, prevention within relevant health and education policies.
Author: Rtr. Tooba Noor
Club: RAC-Multan Change Makers
RID#3272
You can read from the RAC Multan Change Makers here.